Mindi R. Englart
A skeltonic is a poetic form composed of short lines (of about 3-6 words). Each line rhymes with the next and the rhymes are continued as long as the poet wants. The pace is fast and this type of poetry is sometimes called tumbling verse. Many rap songs have this tumbling verse feeling, though the lines are often more than six words. In the following poem, note how poet Whitney Kelley pushes the use of end rhymes. Note the short lines, the rhythm and the use of slant rhyme (people/potential).
My Generation
By Whitney Kelley, Co-op junior
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I have a need
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To help others succeed.
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It is my deed
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To cautiously lead,
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With dedication,
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My generation
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T o higher education
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Through preparation
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For a competitive nation,
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Laying the foundation
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For moral cultivation
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Of intelligence.
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I have an immense
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Layer of patience
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For the ignorance
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Of a people
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Who have potential
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To be essential
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To the consequential
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Development
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And betterment
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Of the environment
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Of the community
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With the opportunity
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To enforce unity.
Now look at these lines from “Mama Said Knock You Out” by L.L. Cool J:
“The babies, we gotta teach em, and hold em/Send em to school, so we can teach em, and mold em/Shape em, and make em take form/Cause their mind is like a ball of clay when it's wet and warm”
Or these lines from “Hold Ya Head” by Tupac Shakur:
“Expose foes, with my hocus pocus flows/They froze/Now suckas idealize my chosen blows”
Have students write a skeltonic poem.